Spy Post Creates Enchanting View Of Saturn In New Campaign

To tout the exciting features of the 2006 Saturn vehicles, postproduction studio Spy Post created a captivating campaign for the sporty ION sedan, Relay family utility vehicle and VUE SUV. The three spots from Goodby, Silverstein & Partners feature vignettes in a continuous and seamless take, which highlights the sleek new design of the vehicles, as well as their superior safety rating and performance specs.

In "VUE," the camera employs an upward rotating motion between scenes. In the opening, we see the SUV atop of a hill in the woods with a camping tent in the background. The camera travels up into the tree branches and then focuses on two people who have stopped abruptly at a traffic light. Another upward revolution brings us to a parking garage where a man loads a gigantic dinosaur cutout into the roomy trunk of a VUE. In the final sequence, the viewers are taken inside the comfy VUE, through the windshield as it travels an open road, and then up into a cable bridge as the car drives by.

The other two spots, "ION" and "Relay," follow suit showcasing the Saturn ION and Relay in equally compelling ways. Spy Post's use of the continuous transitions and rotating views adds to the effect of the vehicles on a never-ending seamless ride.

"Spy Post was a pleasure to work with on our latest Saturn campaign," says Michael Damiani, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners Producer. "They were fast and professional, and went above and beyond our needs. We were able to do all of our finishing under one roof, saving time and money. Darren Orr was a great asset to have working with us, adding value every step of the way, and Chris Martin is a colorist on par with the best of them."

According to Lead Artist Darren Orr, the challenge was creating effects that were integrated, realistic and not easily identified by the audience. Orr was involved from the very beginning working closely with Smuggler Director Adam Berg to visualize the shoot and determine any problems, as well as to map out the most efficient way of shooting particular elements. "It was crucial for us to know beforehand how the transitions would play out. We had to make sure we had all of the necessary elements to create seamless transitions during the post process with a natural look and speed flow."

Orr and CG Artist Joe Henke performed on-set supervision and also utilized still photos for measurements of the car and environment, which Henke could later track accurately in 3D. The shop was also responsible for numerous fixes including the addition of seat belts and windows, as well as a window-to-desert shot in "Relay," replacement of people in the rearview mirrors for both "Relay" and "VUE," background, sky and hubcap replacements, as well as the removal of reflections and a dog trainer in "Relay" using Discreet Flame, Alias Maya and boujou for 3D tracking.

All of the telecine was also handled within Spy Post by Colorist Chris Martin, which proved to be a huge benefit in streamlining the process. Each spot had a different set of agency creatives and it was easy for them to make revisions and replacements with both the compositing and telecine in-house. Martin was able to provide Orr with alternate passes who could then adapt composite and effects shots as often as needed.

"With Spy Post's capabilities, I was able to transfer the film to HD so the compositors and CG artists could work in an HD space and then down-res it to standard television," comments Martin. "There aren't many places where the client can go from the film transfer to the finishing room and see their changes almost immediately. We were provided with beautiful footage and it was advantageous to work closely with Darren [Orr] and pull him into the room to discuss ideas and passes. For this project, I was able to be more a part of the building process."

Orr concludes, "The agency creatives and Producer Michael Damiani made this a great project to work on. It was exciting to fully utilize our new telecine-to-post pipeline and have the ability to transfer, color and bring the new material into our FX pipeline as needed. This capacity proved to be very effective in terms of saving costs and time."